Lloegyr-Character Creation
Those Who Have Gone Before Us Character Creation Those who have played games with either Storyteller or MET rules will find this system familiar, however, there are several key differences. Please follow the steps outlined here, so that you create a character that fits in a dark ages fantasy game (as opposed to a modern horror game). =Concept= While Lloegyr contains many familiar tropes and allusions, it is a fantasy setting created from scratch, and so you might find yourself asking "what should I play." There are two recommended options. First, you might create your character as part of a group. The main setting will be the King's Great Hall at Caerlot, and the most common social unit is an Earl and his retainers. You can utilize the rules for Lords and Vassals to flesh out your characters mechanically, and the descriptions in A King's Hall for ideas on your interactions. For example, one player might play the Earl, another his champion, another his Vincian Steward. You might decide that you're all family... in fact, this is highly recommended. This allows groups of friends to play together, and allows new players to quickly be brought into a group. Alternately, there are numerous "character slots" listed here. You may select a name and position that already comes with plot and ties, but flesh out the character as you like. There will likely be some requirements by the ST (for example, the Earl of Lamark is wealthy and powerful, so you'd likely have to invest in social merits), but as long as it fulfills the role, all decisions will be yours. If you don't like the either option, or don't wish to make character ties, you can look through these pages to get an idea of what sort of heroes exist in Lloegyr. Talk to the Storyteller, who will discuss what sort of archetypes the game has yet to see. Regardless, there are a few important things to do at this point. Establish Your Wyrd The single most important thing to do is establish your Wyrd, Your Wyrd is your fate, your lot in this world. You are a hero, which means your Wyrd is something greater than that of lesser men and women. You cannot escape your Wyrd, and if you try, your fate will seek you out, and destroy all you have created or loved. Every individual has a unique Wyrd, and it is not tragic, nor fantastic... it is simply your fate. If an interesting fate strikes you, you can inform the storyteller at the start of character creation. If you have trouble thinking of your Wyrd, don't worry... you can flesh it out later. Once you have picked it, your Storyteller will assign one to five dots to that Wyrd. For ever dot of Wyrd, you gain two free dots to spend on merits. This is supposed to be incentive to craft dramatic and difficult fates for your character. There is a catch, however... if the ST feels that you are taking an action that goes against your Wyrd, he or she can inflict a -2 penalty on applicable draws for every dot of Wyrd. Fate cuts both ways: it makes you extraordinary, but also controls your destiny. What is the ST looking for? A few things: *Your Wyrd has to be dramatic. Drama is based on tension and uncertainty. Your Wyrd should bring internal conflict... it should be something that challenges your character, or that your character seeks to avoid. *Your Wyrd has to be open-ended. Your Wyrd can't be to die at the age of 80 in bed... that's too specific. *Your Wyrd should be extraordinary. "To be a great shoemaker" is not an appropriate Wyrd. *Your Wyrd should be poetic. Phrasing counts for quite a bit... put it eloquently. *Your Wyrd should mysterious. There ought to be some element of the unknown involved. What are some good examples for your Wyrd? Here's the Wyrds of a few non-player characters (we won't tell which ones): *''To let mercy be their undoing, their lieges be their folly, and to never turn from the path of honor towards sense.'' *''To be made the mother of heroes, and the champion of the gods, but die unmourned and soon forgotten." *''To find the greatest joy in the most terrible of losses, and the most terrible of losses in the greatest of joys." *''To die with the entire world in his hands but leave nothing behind." Determine Your Heritage In Lloegyr, who you are determines your identity. The Aels and the Heorots, the Vincians and the Kraki... they all have different focuses. Additionally, they have different religions, which do make a difference in the mystical world of Lloegyr. The different peoples are described in The People of Lloegyr. You may pick any one of the five, however, the focus of the story is upon the Heorots and the Aels. Each have different game mechanics (described in the appropriate section). However, if you're having trouble figuring out what to play: If you want to play a mover-and-shaker, particularly a straight-forward character bound by honor and obligation... play a Heorot If you want to play a mystical character or the last of a dying culture... ''play an Ael ''If you want to play a schemer, climbing tooth and nail up the social ladder... ''play a Vincian ''If you want to play a boastful, ambitious, larger than life character... ''play a Kraki ''If you want to play the mysterious outsider... ''play one of the Wahla Once you pick your nation, you need to pick a religion. You may, with Storyteller permission, but generally, the Heorots, the Kraki, and the Vincians are of the Faith of Arim, while the Aels worship the Dunmar-Gog. The Wahla may choose either or, for theirs is a world in transition. =Attributes= Select your attributes normally, as per MET. However, you should note that there ''is no damage cap in this game. As such, it is not of vital importance to have five dots in an attribute, and it is not recommended. What is recommended is that you have no more than one attribute rated one dot. One marginal attribute is a roleplaying experience, however two such attributes are not appropriate for this game. =Skills= Select your skills normally, as per MET. However, there are some changed skills (as Computer and Drive are not appropriate for this level of technology). The following is a list of the skills from which you may choose. Mental *Academics *Captain *Crafts *Investigation *Medicine *Occult *Politics *Warfare (see Requiem for Rome) Physical *Athletics *Archery (see Requiem for Rome) *Brawl *Larceny *Ride (see Requiem for Rome) *Stealth *Survival *Weaponry Social *Animal Ken *Empathy *Expression *Intimidation *Persuasion *Socialize *Streetwise *Subterfuge Before you buy skills, remember to apply the free dots from your heritage. Captain Characters possessing this skill are trained in the mastery and maneuver of ships and other vessels. They understand the necessary tasks required of a sailor, and are generally capable of serving as a captain of a ship. Possessed by: Sailors Specialties: By ship type, or by a particular body of water. Roll Results Failure: Your character fails at the task of seamanship he or she attempted Success: Your character successfully maneuvers his or her vessel. =Skill Specialities= Select your skills specialties normally, as per MET. =Add the Heroic Template= At this point, add the Heroic Template. This template is fully described in Mirrors on pages 188 - 193. A brief summary of this template (including changes for the setting) are included below: *You gain one dot the supernatural advantage Fate (this is identical to Arete in the book). *You may add your Fate to tests to resist supernatural powers. *Every dot of Fate increases your Health by one box. *You may spend one dot of Willpower to heal three boxes of bashing damage, or one box of lethal. *You gain three masteries. Masteries are fully described in Mirrors and not included here so that the Storyteller does not get sued for copyright infringement. Additionally, followers of the Dunmar-Gog may select magical powers. These powers are described in the entry on magical powers. =Advantages= Defense, Initiative, Size, Speed, and Willpower are determined normally as per MET. Select an appropriate Virtue and Vice as well. However, instead of Morality, Those Who Came Before Us uses Honor. Honor Lloegyr is a violent world, and very different from our own. The importance of fate and the Wyrd mean that the "moral" choice is not always the same as the correct one. Honor represents how well one holds to their fate and keeps their conscience clean. Degeneration test function normally, but there is a unique hierarchy of sins, and special consequences for letting one's honor slip away. Honor - Sin 10 - Failing to accomplish an action you said you would without breaking a promise (i.e. boasting that you would win a race). Draw five times. 9 - Spreading rumors or misrepresenting the truth without actually lying. Draw five times. 8 - Taking something you did not earn, but did not belong to anyone (nothing in this world is free). Draw four times. 7 - Failing to accomplish an action after you told another you would (i.e. breaking a promise). Draw four times. 6 - Harming another without giving fair warning, disrespecting your liege or religion. Draw three times. 5 - Refusing hospitality or mercy, disobeying the word of your liege or religion, lying, or showing cowardice. Draw three times. 4 - Breaking a vow or sworn oath, theft or larceny, attacking from stealth or unfair advantage, fighting dishonorably. Draw three times. 3 - Bearing false witness, crimes against your liege. Draw two times. 2 - Crimes against the Gods or Faith, harming a guest, wanton cruelly. Draw two times. 1 - Killing your kin or your liege, treason, consorting with the unnatural. Draw two times. Your honor describes the state of your soul, and cannot be easily hidden. A Wits+Empathy draw, opposed by Manipulation+Subterfuge will reveal the general state of your Honor: Paragon, Unstained, Craven, or Abominable. Each state is described below: *'Paragon' (Honor 8 - 10) - You are clearly amongst the finest of all mortals; your Honor is without question. You gain a +1 to all mundane draws using social skills for each dot of Honor above 7 (i.e. +1 at 8, +2 at 9). In single combat where you can identify yourself by name, you gain a +1 bonus to Defense against anyone of lesser Honor, as they cannot help but be awed by your presence. *'Unstained' (Honor 5 - 7) - No game effects. *'Craven' (Honor 3 - 4) - The stains of your honor clear affect how others treat you. You suffer a -1 penalty to all mundane draws using any social skill except Intimidation against those who know you as Craven. Further, you cannot have Lord, Vassal (see Lords and Vassals]], or Status merits of a higher rating than your honor. *'Abominable' (Honor 1 - 2) - The monster that you are is obvious. You can hold no Status, nor be a Lord or Vassal. Your word counts for nothing in the eyes of nobility, so you effectively have no legal rights. Due to their desire to destroy you, all those who know you as Abominable and attack you receive a +1 bonus to their attacks. At character creation, a player may reduce their Honor by up to two points. Each point gives them 5 experience points. =Merits= Merits are selected as per MET. However, due to the nature of the setting, there are many notes about individual merits, including two new merits: Lord and Vassal. Lords and Vassals Loyalty is exceptionally important in Lloegyr, and most heroes are either sworn to another, or have others sworn to them. This is a vital social dynamic, and one that is integral to the game. Several existing merits are used to demonstrate this (see Altered Merits, below), but two new merits help enforce this part of the setting. It is very common for a character to be sworn to another. If the other character is an NPC, it is best to use the Mentor or Retainer merit. But to swear to another character, use the Lord and Vassal Merits Lord Social Graduated Merit A character who has other player characters sworn to them is considered a Lord (the Heorots use the term Earl, but Lord is the more generic version). To be a Lord, a character must be a noble, and the more vassals he or she has, the more powerful he or she is considered. Lord is an unusual merit: you don't gain any benefits, rather, you use this to have more powerful people in your employ. Prerequisites: If the character is Heorot, he must be male. Further, this merit cannot exceed character's dots in Status (Nobility). Additionally, the vassal must swear to the character freely. The character gains another player character as his vassal. The vassal gains 5 experience points for each dot of Lord the character takes. For example, Castus has become the Lord of Finn, and purchases 4 dots in the Lord merit. He records this as Lord of Finn - 4 on his character sheet, and the player of Finn gains 20 experience points to spend on his character. A character may purchase this merit more than once, each time it applies to a different vassal. Drawbacks: A character who takes this merit cannot take the Vassal or Mentor merit. An exception to this are Vincian characters, whose culture has long lines of fealty. Vassal Social Graduated Merit A character who is sworn to a lord increases his lieges power and prestige. Vassal is an unusual merit: you don't gain any benefits, rather, you use this to have more powerful people in your employ. Prerequisites: A character cannot possess more dots in Status (Nobility) than his lord. Additionally, the lord must have at least one dot of Status (Nobility) and agree to take on the Vassal The character gains another player character as his lord. The lord gains 5 experience points for each dot of Vassal the character takes; this experience can only be spent on social merits. For example, Finn sworn Castus as a Vassal, and purchases 4 dots in the Vassal merit. He records this as Vassal of Castus - 4 on his character sheet, and the player of Castus gains 20 experience points to spend on social merits for his character. Drawbacks: A character who takes this merit cannot take the Lord, Mentor, or Retainer merit. An exception to this are Vincian characters, whose culture has long lines of fealty. Additionally, the other character becomes a liege in terms of Honor violations Altered Merits Mental Merits *Unseen Sense - Only those of Aelic or Wahla blood may purchase this merit. Physical Merits *Fighting Styles - Fighting styles use tabletop rules. The following fighting styles (and only the following) are available in Those Who Have Gone Before Us: **Fighting Style (Aggressive Light Sword): See Armory Reloaded, page 66, and Armory, pages 210-211. This style may be used with any sword size 2 or smaller. **Fighting Style (Aggressive Striking): See Armory Reloaded, page 65, and World of Darkness, pages 110 - 112 **Fighting Style (Archery): See Armory, pages 208-209. **Fighting Style (Evasive Light Sword): See Armory Reloaded, pages 74-78. This style may be used with any sword size 2 or smaller. **Fighting Style (Grappling): See Armory Reloaded, page 67. **Fighting Style (Heavy Sword): See Armory Reloaded, pages 81-85. **Fighting Style (MAC): Renamed "Fighting Style (Master's Training). See Dogs of War, pages 38 - 39. **Fighting Style (Shield): See Armory Reloaded, pages 91-95. *Gunslinger - This merit is not available. *Stunt Driver - This merit is renamed "Lancer." It applies to Ride instead of Drive. Social Merits *Allies - Renamed "Holdings". This represents your character's influence in a given field. Only specific Holdings are allowed: **City: Your character knows the various commoners and villains who dwell on the streets. **Finance: Your character is influential with money-lenders and other common men of wealth. **Land: Your character holds lands and can distribute just amongst the commoners. **Learning: Your character knows and is powerful amongst scholars. **Religion (Specific): Your character has many allies amongst the holy men and women of a particular faith. **Sea: Your character controls one or more ships and their crews. *Barfly - Renamed "Friendly Face." *Contacts - Contact effectively allow you to ask questions regarding one of the categories of Holdings. Contacts can potentially discover any information in a given category, making them more effective for such things than Holdings (i.e. Contacts can discover information only available to characters with four or five dots in Holdings). Each dot in contacts represents a different field. *Friend (Innocents) - While Mentor and Retainer are reserved for fealty, any character may have a Friend. A friend is a an NPC, with no sheet. They always have 5 health, Defense equal to their rating, and are either consider mentally, physically, or socially focused. When making tests in their primary area, their draw pool is 3+their rating. Otherwise, their draw pool is equal to their rating in most tasks. *Mentor - A Mentor is an NPC, created without the Heroic template. Each dot of Mentor (after the first) adds 10 experience points to the Mentor's character sheet. Additionally, each dot (including the first) adds 10 experience points to the Mentor's sheet that can be used to buy social merits. A mentor represents a liege, with all the implications to Honor that implies. *Resources - Instead of dollars, this represents gold. *Retainers - Retainers are sworn vassals. Each retainer is an NPC, created without the Heroic template. Each dot of Retainer (after the first) adds 10 experience points to the Retainer's character sheet. A retainer's rating may not exceed the character's Status (Nobility). *Staff (Ghouls) - Renamed "Guard." This merit does not represent the different sorts of servants an individual has, but rather how many warriors he or she controls. **Guard 1 - 10 warriors **Guard 2 - 50 warriors **Guard 3 - 100 warriors **Guard 4 - 500 warriors **Guard 5 - 1,000 warriors *Status - There are several major types of status. **Status (Nobility): See here **Status (Religion): Both religions have their own hierarchies, described in here for the Dunmar-Gog and here for the Faith of Arim Merits Allowed From Non-Core Books *''Armory Reloaded'' **Armored Fighting *''Asylum'' **A Little Knowledge **Emotional Detachment *''Dogs of War'' **Athletic Dodge **Decorated **Small Unit Tactics **Trained Observer *''Midnight Roads'' **Ingratiating Wanderer *''Reliquary'' **Well Traveled *''Vampire: the Requiem'' **Use the Haven merit to model strongholds. This is considered a social merit. *''War Against the Pure'' **Shield Bearer =Experience Points= All characters gain 75 experience points after character creation (Expert characters from MET). They may trade up to two points of Honor for experience, at 5 XP a piece. Additionally, they may benefit from the Lord and Vassal merits. Finally, players may submit their Wyrd to earn put to 10 dots of bonus merits. Characters may submit a background, up to two pages, for up to an additional 25 experience points (making them Heroic characters). To receive the full experience, players should include: *A discussion of how their Wyrd interacts with their character history. *How their childhood impacted who they are today. *At least three NPCs the storyteller can draw from the story, including one ally and one antagonist. *Important ties to other characters, or an explanation of why the character is a loner. *At least three personal goals the character has. Once submitted, the background will be read by the storyteller, who will tell you how much experience the background is worth. Return to the Main Page